In the prior art, a vehicle-mounted video recording apparatus has been proposed, generally known as a vehicle drive recorder, that captures the view outside of a vehicle by a camera mounted on the vehicle and records the captured view along with vehicle speed upon detecting an impact to the vehicle, such as a collision, hard braking, etc. When such a drive recorder is mounted in a vehicle, it is possible, in the event of a vehicle accident, to investigate the cause of the accident by analyzing the recorded information. Furthermore, not only does the drive recorder serve to enhance the driver's awareness of safe driving, but also records the driver's usual driving habits, for example, for safe driving guidance.
Patent documents 1 and 2 each disclose a drive recorder in which the video being captured by an onboard camera is recorded in a continuously looping fashion, and in the event of an accident, the recorded video is saved on another recording medium. Further, patent documents 3 and 4 each disclose a drive recorder in which vehicle driving data, such as vehicle speed and transmission gear position, is recorded in a continuously looping fashion, and in the event of an accident, the recorded driving data is saved on another recording medium.
Patent document 1: Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. S63-16785
Patent document 2: Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. H06-237463
Patent document 3: Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. H06-331391
Patent document 4: Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. H06-186061